Various stories exist recounting how the salad was invented. One says that it came about in the 1930s at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, where it became a signature dish. It is named for the restaurant's owner, Robert Howard Cobb.[1] Stories vary whether the salad was invented by Cobb or by his chef, Chuck Wilson. The legend is that Cobb had not eaten until near midnight, and so he mixed together leftovers he found in the kitchen, along with some bacon cooked by the line cook, and tossed it with their French dressing.[3] This version of the story (dated to 1937) is retold in the television comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 2, episode 3), when Larry David searches for evidence to prove that another character, Cliff Cobb, has falsely claimed that his grandfather invented the salad.

Another version of the creation is that Robert Kreis, executive chef at the restaurant, created the salad in 1929 (the year the Brown Derby's Hollywood location opened) and named it in honor of Robert Cobb.[4] The same source confirms that 1937 was the reported date of the version noted above, with Cobb making the salad.

A third origin credits the Calistoga area of Northern California, where health seekers flocked for the healing hot springs and mud baths. Locals say it was on the menu at the Calistoga Inn as early as 1920, was named after nearby Cobb Mountain due to its mounding display, with the ingredients coming from an old written family favorite, suggested by a Mrs. Gorbett of Main Street in nearby St. Helena.